New World, Old Fight
by SGTBrony
Summary: A Navy SEAL survives the unthinkable, and finds himself in Equestria...    Keep the feedback coming ladies and gentlemen. Chapter 3 is up
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A line in the sand.

24 November 2016

0456 hours

Afghan-Pakistan Border

"I guess this is it huh LT", Ryan cast me a baleful look, "People are gonna know what you did here Mike" I smiled as I leaned against the truck, "Somehow Ry I don't think so"…..

4 years ago…

1425 Hours

Coronado, California

NSW Training Depot

BUD/S class 285

Hell Week

I can barely see from the sweat pouring into my eyes, we've been up since Monday and the instructors show no sign of letting up. "C'MON BOY! I KNOW YOU WANNA QUIT" the lead instructor roars in my ear, but I won't quit and he knows why…

I was engaged once. She was anything and everything I could've asked for in a woman and many a night I sat awake wondering what an angel like her was doing with someone like me. One morning about 3 weeks after I had proposed she called me from work and asked if I would meet her for lunch, that there was something we needed to talk about.

The tension was thick as we sat in silence for a few moments, then almost as if a dam was breaking she began, spilling out the truth to me. She had for years, dreamed of joining the Air Force. I encouraged her to pursue her dream assuring her it wouldn't change anything between us.

A few months later I was kissing her goodbye as she boarded a plane headed for Afghanistan, She was part of a Medevac aircrew stationed out of Bagram AFB. For months her wing conducted operations supporting various combat missions, I won't say I wasn't a wreck the whole time but the happiness in her voice every time she called, joy at doing something that really mattered, overrode most of my fears.

The night she died I was at work, always at work… her brother told me her helo had been delivering supplies to an Army Special Forces team in Khost when the FOB had come under heavy fire, that my angel had given her life dragging a wounded SF soldier out of the fray.

My whole world had been shattered, for months afterwards I refused to leave the house It got to the point that my family had called in a psychiatrist specializing in trauma to try and bring me out of it. I still find it mildly amusing that my salvation appeared at the mall of all places, in the form of a US Navy recruiter called Petty Officer Taylor.

And so here I am, pushing for all I'm worth. Determined to get some serious payback, I had no idea what I was in for…

Present day minus 20 minutes

"YO ZAZ!" I looked up snapping out of my daydream and into Chief Riley's grinning face, "What's up chief?" I shot back over the roar of the choppers blades, " We're dark and 15 mike from the target AO, in case you weren't listening" I nodded and began checking my gear, first my primary: a MK18 CQBR (An M4 carbine cutdown to a 10.5 inch barrel for ease of movement inside structures), my secondary: a Sig Sauer P226 9mm handgun (fitted with a Surefire X300 weapon light, damn thing was so bright I had blinded an insurgent in Iraq the year previous… burned that asshole's retinas out) and various odds and ends of the special operator, grenades, IR strobes and the like. Once my weapons and gear were accounted for and verified hot ( A round in the chamber saves one from being super dead… in the words of my weapons instructor),I ran over our objective and mission parameters.

About 16 hours ago Langley had received viable Intel that Muj were going to try and sneak an old SS18 Thermonuclear warhead into Afghanistan, bad business indeed. A nuclear blast inside the country would destabilize the region yet again and derail the peace talks in progress between moderate Taliban leaders and the new Afghan government, now for the good news, 5 hours ago my team had been pinged by NAVSPECWARCOM that the highers had found a convoy heading to the border under cover of night, A quick check had confirmed that, yes these were our guys and they had the package in tow.

So now the men of Gunfighter Platoon, SEAL Team 10 were en route to lay down some serious hate, There was Ryan our team leader and one hell of an officer, Andrew the team's chief and 2IC, Bobby, a sniper and medic, Jackson our comms and weapons man, and me. My name's Michael, my nickname "Azazel" or "zaz" was given to me years ago by my best friend, most people hear and think of the demon from the bible but the literal translation is "The Immovable Mountain" at the time my father was undergoing treatment for Leukemia and I was steady as always, a rock if you will for my loved ones. Hence "Azazel".

Now 10 minutes from our objective all chatter inside the chopper ceased as we put our game faces on, ready to kill and ready to die, it's a job we take seriously. "Convoy sighted, final approach to target" the pilot shouted over the team freq, Ryan caught my eye and nodded, I gave him a quick thumbs up as the helo dipped closer to the deck. The moment the skids touched we were out, weapons up, scanning the immediate are for threats, when nothing presented itself we began to move, double timing it to the target location just over the next dune.

The first thing I saw upon cresting the small hill was an insurgent staring me in the eyes, his AK slung on his shoulder, 2 years of training kicked in immediately and I dropped him like liquid with a double tap to the head. The fight was on as the insurgents tried to rally around their vehicles and mount an effective defense, but no one can shoot like us, and they were put down without incident.

Now we had the difficult and nerve-wracking task of making safe a 30 kiloton warhead, we were about 5 mike (or minutes if you prefer) into our search I came upon a bone chilling sight, the weapon itself, armed and active, to make matters worse it had been played with, mercury tilt switches all but assured detonation if the warhead was jostled in any way plus what I believed to be a microwave transmitter attached to the side of the casing itself.

Now the tilt switches were concerning but the microwave emitter was goddamn terrifying, as it functions on proximity, and the fact the weapon was armed and counting down proved beyond a doubt that I had passed inside it's envelope, "LT! GET THEM BACK" I yelled as loud as I could, I didn't want any of my guys to get near this fucking thing, "What's up Zaz?" Ryan shouted from about 25 feet away "Microwave switch LT, it's active and counting down, we've got about 8 mike left" I called back, Ryan's face went pale " Any way to disarm?", "Not a chance LT, get the guys outta here if you haul ass you can clear the blast zone".

"We don't run Zaz, and we don't leave men behind" Ryan affirmed, his face set in a mask of grim determination, " Ry, Maggie needs you and I won't have you guys kill yourselves on my account, now get the FUCK out of my AO Lieutenant!" I barked, Ryan stared back for a second, indecision playing on his face before Chief Riley put a hand on his shoulder, "C'mon LT, we gotta move" Ryan snapped out of it and gave the order I'd been hoping and dreading to hear "Nighthawk 03, this is Gunfighter 1, we need emergency extract, we've got live nuclear ordinance down here! T-minus 7 minutes and counting!". I glanced over at him " I guess this is it huh LT?" Ryan shot me a baleful look "People are gonna know what you did here Mike" I smiled as I leaned against the truck "Somehow Ry I don't think so".

I looked at my brothers standing 30 feet away, might as well have been the moon for all the help they could offer," Go guys, take care of my folks" I smiled and they offered a nod here and a short wave there as they double timed it to the waiting MH-6, there was no time for heroic goodbyes, that shit only happens in movies. The second they were away I looked inside the truck, 5 minutes and counting, "sonofabitch" I muttered, "Well I guess since no ones around…" I dug inside my IBA (body armor), pulled out a beat up pack of Camel's and lit one up, savoring the last smoke I would ever have, each drag seemed like a gift from god as I waited for the inevitable.

I risked a look at the weapon, 15 seconds…14...13...12, in that moment I felt completely at peace.

10... I wondered what they would say when I was gone

9...I hope I was a good man

8... I hope it doesn't hurt

7... Heaven or Hell?

6... No sense worrying about it now…

5..

4...

3...

2...

1...

Detonation… I didn't feel a thing and my whole world was consumed for an instant by a blinding white flash then… nothing…..

_Where the hell..?_

I felt grass tickling the side of my face, I cracked one eye and saw brilliant sunlight, "_I must be dead, is this heaven?"_ I wiggled my fingers and toes almost afraid to try and assess the damage, nope all accounted for, I opened my eyes proper and lifted myself off the ground. I was in a forest, lush foliage and massively tall trees as far as the eye could see in every direction under a beautiful blue sky all but devoid of clouds.

Off in the distance I could barely make out what looked like the turrets of a medieval castle. "That's a plan" I muttered to myself, "_Get to the structure, check for inhabitants and figure out where I am", I'd deal with the ridiculously unexplainable feat that was surviving a nuclear blast later, for now I better get walking…._


	2. Semper Vincit

**Authors note: Hey everyone, just wanted to say I really appreciate the feedback I've been getting, keep it coming. I may update this story's rating to M in the future, not a "clop fic" but I plan on having some flashback type scenes involving the OC's time as a Sniper in a SEAL platoon in order to fill in some gaps and so you all can get a better sense of the character.**

**In response to Solrac's comment, there's no way I'm going to conduct any ponyfication on my main character, I believe this story is and should be about my OC's journey to become comfortable and happy in his own skin after so many tough breaks . Also surviving a nuke plus complete genetic code rewrite would be a bit hard to swallow and detract from the story, but I digress. Onward to Canterlot.**

Chapter 2

Semper Vincit

**TIME: Unknown**

**Location: Unknown**

**Day 1**

After walking for what seemed like hours through the dense foliage, stopping every now and then to shoot an azimuth and reestablish my position. I had finally reached the edge of the forest

Bursting through into blinding sunlight I found myself in a wide open field, about a half klick away stood the object of my trek. The castle was, in a word, majestic… and that was severely understating the point. Tall spires reaching towards the light blue sky, carved and polished stone so white it almost had a pinkish tinge to it.

I stood in awe of it's beauty, I've always loved medieval architecture and this was a stunning example. My training kicked in and I quickly scanned for threats, finding none apparent I started advancing across the field. I lifted my rifle and flipped the 3x magnifier up, checking for movement around the perimeter of the massive structure I saw several of what appeared to be Shetland ponies milling around, keeping my joy at seeing some kind of civilization in check was tough as I kept an eye out for silhouettes and commenced hauling some serious ass towards the wall surrounding the castle proper.

About 10 feet high, the wall looked more ornamental than defensive, I filed that away in my already (as you can imagine) extensive list of questions for the occupants of the castle. As I approached the wall I slowed up, falling into a crouch and making my way silently towards the base, at this point I wasn't taking any chances. I tightened my grip on my MK18 and stalked forward, checking my flanks, when I heard voices coming from just over the wall.

"I heard the Princess had to reschedule her appearance"

_Princess? _I thought, _Royalty?_, _where the hell am I?_

"Hmph, I get the feeling there's more to it than that"

"Could be, but who can say? It's probably nothing"

I pressed myself flush against the wall, trying to glean whatever information I could before I just waltzed into the courtyard, unfortunately the speakers had moved out of earshot. I assessed my options, I could A) Bail over the wall and hope for the best or, B) Walk up and knock on the front door and hope for the best.

Needless to say I didn't care for my choices, but it was game time.

Deciding on the main entrance (sneaking around is no kind of way to prove you're not a threat), I took a deep breath and stepped out into the open. To say I wasn't prepared for what I saw is like saying the Israelis and the Palestinians annoy each other, small ponies were walking around, having what appeared to be conversations…It took me a second to realize it was a market.

I was observing commerce conducted by ponies, kinda goes without saying that I was in shock at this point, then one of them caught sight of me and all hell broke loose.

"OH MY CELESTIA , WHAT IS THAT THING!" A brown pony cried.

"IT'S A MONSTER! RUN!" shouted another.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone I just need some help" I tried to tell them before a sharp blow to the head knocked me the fuck out…

**1 year ago**

**Khost Afghanistan**

"_You got him?"_

"_I tally, Wind?"_

"_No value, range 975 meters"_

"_Set"_

"_Blast the fucker"_

_The report from the .300 is deafening, I regain my sight picture just in time to see the round blow off the Insurgent's leg mid-femur…._

"_Huh, Wind must'a kicked up" my spotter said with a grin…._

**Location Unknown**

My eyes snap open as I regain consciousness, the pain starts immediately radiating out from the back of my head to what seems like everywhere. Trying to move, I discovered I was bound tightly, and to add the toothpick to this shit sandwich all my gear is gone. I realized at that point I'm laying on the cold stone floor of what appears to be a dungeon of sorts. Through the bars I can see a lone guard, a pony in silver armor, he bore a striking resemblance to a Roman Legionnaire.

"HEY, BUDDY!" I yell.

"QUIET DEMON!, The Princess will deal with you soon enough!"

Immediately following that lovely little exchange, the door at the top of the stairs opened, I couldn't get a good look from my floor-borne vantage point, but my pony-guard bowed deeply

"Princess" I heard him say.

Walking into my field of view was a white horse, no, a Pegasus Unicorn hybrid of sorts, around five and a half feet tall with a mane of pastel colors and a shining gold crown atop her head. I couldn't keep my eyes from widening at how majestic she was, her presence commanded respect but I felt no fear, I felt…comforted. Her violet eyes took in my prone form and she turned to the guard.

"Captain Strike, untie the prisoner, please" she said softly, her voice was almost musical, but filled with authority, I could see immediately why she was in charge.

The guard bowed once again "As you wish princess"

He unlocked the cell door, moving towards me "Strike" pulled a sword from a sheath on his side with his mouth and swiftly cut the ropes binding my hands and feet, I stood up rubbing my wrists where the ropes had dug in as Strike beckoned me out of my cell. I bowed to the princess, god only knew I didn't want to piss off the locals. She inclined her head in my direction and spoke.

"Strike? Will you give us some privacy for a moment?"

The guard looked stunned " Princess! This, this THING might be dangerous I must insis-"

The Princess gave him a small smile "Strike this being means nopony harm, please give us a moment"

The Captain looked mutinous but acquiesced with a nod of his head "I'll remain just outside the door, in case you need me", the last part was said with an openly hostile look in my direction. I couldn't help but smile, that little guy had some fight in him, on the heels of that thought I couldn't quite believe how accepting I was of the whole "talking ponies" thing. Guess a lifetime of cartoons will do that to ya.

I heard the door close and the Princess turned her attention back to me. "May I have your name young man?"

The question caught me off guard, I was expecting "what are you" or "where are you from". I cocked my head to the side, "My name is Petty Officer Michael Dunn, Princess, United States Navy. and If you don't mind me saying so, you seem a little too casual about all this"

"I know of Humans if that's what has you confused, I've known of them for some time now" she shot back with a smile "Although, that knowledge is not widespread among pony kind."

"I gathered from the warm welcome" I said rubbing the tender spot at the base of my skull. "Now that you have my name, may I have yours?" I held out my hand.

She raised her hoof I grasped it gently and shook it, "Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria

I couldn't help but crack a smile " It's a pleasure and an honor ma'am, I have to ask, what's the plan for me now?"

Again with that smile, like there was a joke and she was the only one who got the punch line. "You will stay here, in the palace for the time being. You will be taken care of until we can find a more permanent residence"

"Thank you Princess, I'll be as unobtrusive as possible"

She looked directly into my eyes and chuckled "Somehow I doubt that, Captain? You can come in now"

The door opened and Captain Strike's head appeared, "Princess?"

"Please escort our guest upstairs. Make sure he is fed, clean and comfortable, I'm making his welfare your responsibility Captain"

Strike snapped to attention, "Yes Princess!, He'll be kept safe you have my word"

Celestia nodded " Very good captain", she turned to me "I'm sorry to leave you just yet, but it is very late and I do have certain responsibilities that require my attention"

I bowed "I understand Princess, thank you again and goodnight"

After she left us, Strike and I made our way out of the dungeon and into the main hall. Once again I was left in awe of this place's beauty, the colors were so vibrant, as if I was seeing the world in high definition. I was shown to a lavish bedroom, to my surprise my gear minus my weapons was stacked in the corner, after washing up and changing into a fresh pair of skivvies I sat on the bed taking stock of my situation. I was the only one of my species, in a strange new world… and I felt strangely at peace. Digging in my pack for my smokes, I stumbled upon the photo of Jess, I fought back the tears threatening to fall as I laid down on the bed, placing her picture on the pillow next to me, her face the last thing I saw as I faded off to sleep.

"_Goodnight my love"….. _


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A Brand New Day

_Blood….so much blood… I didn't know one person had that much in them. The screams of the wounded cut through the night air like a knife….the fires are still burning…_

_A child walks out of the smoke, bloodied and broken…. I reach out to him as he falls… _

*GASP*

I awoke with a start, sweating and breathing heavily to sunlight streaming in through the window. I walked into the bathroom and splashed some water in my face, gazing into the mirror, my dark green eyes looking back at me, the scar on my neck where an Insurgent counter sniper's bullet had almost ended my life… I looked a hell of a lot older than my 26 years. There came a knock on my door and a soft voice I recognized as Celestia's.

"Michael? Are you awake?"

"Yes Princess, come in please"

The door opened and in she walked, "Good morning Michael, I trust you slept well?"

I finished pulling my t-shirt on and turned to face her "I slept very well Princess thank you"

She gave me a genuine smile "I'm glad the room was to your liking, I was hoping you and I could take a walk and perhaps you could tell me your story?"

I returned the smile with equal warmth. "I'd enjoy that Princess, give us an opportunity to get on the same page"

Celestia and I made our way out of the castle and onto the grounds proper. As we walked in silence I took in my surroundings, I was truly seeing Equestria for the first time. I'd never seen a place so idyllic, so peaceful. I felt as though the story I had to tell would taint this place's beauty and innocence, but I took a deep breath and began my story in earnest.

I started hemorrhaging information, something about her made me want to explain myself, (she reminded me of my mom….weird huh?) I told her about my childhood, my life in Montana, the first time I saw Jessica….I told her about the night Jess died, my subsequent enlistment in the Navy, how I became a weapon in order to seek retribution, the people I'd killed and finally how I came to be in Equestria.

I think for her part, Celestia was a bit taken aback by my sudden outpouring, and silenced me with a raised hoof. "It sounds to me Michael that you have had a run of very poor luck, for that I am sorry. I am compelled to ask certain questions however."

"Of course Princess, ask away"

She thought for a moment before beginning, "The first thing I have to understand, you said these nuclear weapons possess immense destructive power correct?" I nodded, "I ask because, while magic is a way of life here in Equestria and we do have spell's that are capable of that kind of power. They take many years to master, and aren't capable of anything close to what brought you here, which through my research seems to be an inter-dimensional shift . It's disconcerting to say the least."

I sat down on a stump. Hard. "So basically you're telling me that you don't understand how I got here any more than I do? From which I can infer there's no way to send me home?"

The Princess nodded sadly "At the present time, no. I will set the best and brightest minds in Equestria to work on this issue as soon as possible and if there's anything we can do we will, I promise."

I smiled sadly, "Thank you Princess, but I better get comfortable, could be awhile. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Yes as a matter of fact, you've told me about your time as a soldier and I need a promise from you Michael. First, that if I find you a permanent residence in Equestria you'll not harm anypony. And secondly, that you will be as vague as possible concerning your origins, concepts such as war, destruction, and killing are foreign to pony kind and will only serve to frighten any who hear of it, or worse yet they will want to hear more and forever be poisoned by it… can you promise me Michael?"

I nodded, "Princess, I would rather die than taint Equestria with the brutality of my world, as for harming anypony, I killed to protect the innocent, we fought monsters but we never became them. I swear to it."

Celestia looked me dead in the eyes, "Lying is a human trait, I trust you Michael but I have to be sure, would you be open to a somewhat unconventional method?"

I cocked an eyebrow, "I certainly don't want any mistrust to exist between us Princess, but what exactly are you thinking?"

" I could peer into your memories and see for myself, hardly an unreasonable request considering where you came from, do you agree?"

I was in full on crisis mode, it was my worst nightmare. To be judged for my actions in the field by someone who had no idea what it was like to look true evil in the eye, on the outside however I shrugged.

"If you feel it's the only way to be sure Princess, then lets get to it."

Celestia nodded and her horn began to glow as we were quickly ensconced in white light….

7 months ago…

Democratic Republic Of Congo.

"Gunfighter is inbound to target, ETA 5 mike" Ryan whispered into his tac radio "Hey zaz you ready for this?"

I smiled, "LT, I was born ready"

We'd been hunting a known war criminal for the last 3 months, he was a real scumbag… responsible for numerous atrocities, drug and sex trafficking and the kidnapping and training of child soldiers in every one of the small "Conflicts" in and around DRC for the last 5 years, we'd finally got clearance to take him down after Langley had discovered he was supplying arms to Al Shabab, a Somali insurgent group linked to Al Qaeda. It bothered me immensely that we only stepped in because he'd become an Islamic aligned threat, in my humble opinion this asshole should have been killed a long time ago.

But I'm a field operator… I do what I'm told and leave the politics to the politicians, we had a shot at him now and I'd be damned if the bastard wasn't going down.

"Closing in on the perimeter now, Bobby? How's it looking?" Ryan whispered.

Bobby's stone cold voice came back over the team freq "Five on the outs LT, 1 in the tower, looks like anywhere between 10 and 15 hostiles total"

"Copy, we're moving in, zaz take the right side, take that guy quiet like."

I gave him a thumbs up and moved quickly and quietly towards the unsuspecting sentry having a smoke by the gate, I felt kind of bad.. Killing the guy before he was finished seemed like a dick move, I slammed the knife into the base of his skull twisting it like a screwdriver, he died without a sound. We swept the village taking down the sentries before collapsing on the target building.

Ryan waved me towards the door "Stack up, zaz take the point"

I nodded and lined up on the door, Ryan placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezed once and I kicked the door in. We spread out, taking control of the ground floor quickly. Moving up to the second level I found what had to be our guy's room, a sleeping guard sitting outside the door.

I drew my knife and stalked toward him with the team at my back, he started to stir and I jumped on him one hand covering his mouth, the other jamming my knife into the side of his neck as I dragged him to the floor, blood gushed over my gloved hand but the struggle was brief. We stacked up on the door and kicked it in. Our target was sitting up startled by the noise, he made a wild grab for the AK sitting at the foot of the bed, only to be cold cocked by Ryan who proceeded to zip tie his hands and check his face against the photo we were supplied.

"It's him" Ryan said then his eyes along with his weapon snapped to movement in the far corner, I spun around switching on my weapon light and was shocked to see a young girl, about 12 or 13 hiding under a table, she was completely naked and looking terrified.

"Sonofabitch" I swore grabbing a blanket off the bed and walking towards her, she was scrambling trying to get away until I showed her the blanket and said, "C'est bon, je ne vais pas vous blesser mon enfant" (It's ok I won't hurt you my child).

Thank god she spoke French or I don't think I'd ever been able to calm her down. She smiled weakly and crawled over to me, I quickly wrapped her in the blanket and sat her on the table.

"Parlez vous avec anglais?"

"Oui Monsieur, only a little"

I smiled at her "That's okay sweetheart I'll keep it simple, did this man hurt you?" I pointed at the bound and gagged asshole on the floor.

Tears welled up in her and my eyes as she nodded. I've never felt so cold, the rage I felt was all consuming. "LT, leave me with him."

"Zaz you know I can't do tha-"

"Ry, go… and take the girl"

Ryan nodded, he motioned the guys out of the room as I turned my attention back to our friend. His wide terrified eyes were shining at me over the duct tape securing his mouth, I ripped it off and he immediately began ranting at me in French, begging me to let him go, that it was all a mistake. I kicked him as hard as I could in the face, blood and teeth flew across the room.

"You think I care for your excuses? SHE'S A CHILD!" I raged as I delivered another vicious kick to his stomach, now he was really scared, offering me money in exchange for his miserable life. I wasn't listening, I drew my SIG and screwed the suppressor on. "Prepare yourself you piece of shit" I smiled as he screamed and leveled the weapon at his forehead and fired with a suppressed THWAT, the 9mm round impacted his face and blew his brains all over the wall behind him….

"_To Protect the Innocent….."_

"_Now you see what I meant, I would never want anypony to experience this kind of horror, even secondhand"_

_With a bright flash I was once again standing in the field with Celestia, more than a little dizzy I leaned over and closed my eyes waiting for the nausea to pass._

"_Ugh, that was pretty damn strange and I hope you're satisfied now Princess."_

_Celestia looked downright ill, "Michael…I had no idea…"_

"_Yeah, well now you do. And that was just one operation, I went on hundreds of those little jaunts during my time in SPECWAR." I wasn't happy, I felt backed into a corner almost hamstrung by Celestia's request._

"_I did that so you would trust me Celestia, you're all I have at the moment.."_

" _I understand Michael, I promise you're trust isn't mislaid"_

_Feeling my anger cool, I shot her a wry smile "I'll hold you to that Princess"_

_She looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke, "I think I know the perfect place for you, but for now let's go have lunch, hmm?"_

"_Sounds great"._

_I was sitting in my room flipping through the photos of my family on my Iphone, god I missed them…I didn't know if I was ever going to get home but if I ever did my sister was getting a new car for Christmas, I was walking down my driveway when a knock at the door brought me back to reality._

"_Michael?"_

"_Come in Princess"_

_She walked into the room, a big smile on her face " I've found you a new home"_

"_Really now? That was quick, can I ask where?"_

"_Ponyville, You'll be staying with my student Twilight Sparkle, until we can come up with something more permanent, or send you home whichever comes first"_

"_Princess, I don't know what to say except thank you from the bottom of my heart, you've been more understanding and supportive than I had any right to expect. When do we leave?"_

"_As soon as you're ready, and there's no need to thank me Michael, I wouldn't be much of a Princess if I turned away those in need" she said with a smile._

"_No I suppose not" I said, looking into her eyes._

_She broke my gaze, cleared her throat "I, along with the chariot will be waiting out front when you're done packing"_

"_Yes ma'am, I'll finish up and be down momentarily" _

_I finished packing up my gear and took one last look around the room as I walked out and closed the door _

_behind me. The chariot was made entirely of gold with two silver clad Pegasi hitched to it, Celestia was already sitting in the back waiting for me as I made my way down the castle steps. _

_Moments later we were in the air, if Equestria was beautiful from the ground then it was stunning from up here, the starlit night was breathtaking in a way I'd never experienced before. Celestia chuckled,_

" _I take it you enjoy Luna's beautiful night?"_

_I turned to face her "Who now?"_

"_My sister Luna, I regret that you weren't able to meet her during your stay but there's time still"_

"_Unfortunately I do have an abundance of that Princess" I said turning my gaze back to the beautiful star filled sky._

_We touched down in Ponyville about 30 minutes later, in the dark it reminded me of some of the old towns in Holland where I'd been lucky enough to go on leave about a year ago. Lanterns lined "Main street" casting a beautiful orange glow on the simple homes and shops. We stopped in front of a massive Oak tree that had been hollowed out and refitted as a home with windows, doors, even a garden out front. Celestia hopped out and started for the door, then stopped and turned to me._

" _If you would wait here, I'm going to go warn my student" she said with a chuckle_

_I couldn't help but crack a smile " Of course Princess, do what you need to do, I'll just wait here like a good boy"_

_She made her way to the front door and knocked, the door opened and a small purple Unicorn popped her head out, I couldn't hear the conversation but it was clear the small Unicorn was excited. She was bouncing from hoof to hoof, when Celestia finally led her over to the chariot it almost looked like she was vibrating._

_Celestia looked pleased by the result, it seemed to me like fear but then again, I wasn't great at pony body language._

"_Michael? Meet my faithful student Twilight Sparkle"….._


	4. Chapter 4

**UPDATE**

**Hey all just letting ya know, for some odd unknown reason my Computer Italicized the last half of chapter 3, I haven't the foggiest idea why but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Until next time boys and girls**


	5. Chapter 5

fimfiction


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